Lake Tahoe West Shore is the Best Shore

Sunnyside - Tahoe City California
History
The history of Sunnyside Resort dates back to 1908, when the original building was constructed as a summer home. It was opened as a lodge in 1946, with seven rooms, two baths, and a small marina. In 1986, Sunnyside was sold to a group of Bay Area families who decided the old building needed a major overhaul after almost 80 years of service. The resort underwent a thorough renovation and once again became a Lake Tahoe social center. The beautifully rebuilt Sunnyside Restaurant and Lodge re-opened in June of 1987.
Restaurants
Sunnyside Restaurant & Lodge - www.sunnysidelodge.com/
Fire Sign Cafe - firesigncafe.com
West Shore Market - www.westshoremarket.com/
Spoon - spoontahoe.com
Restaurants
Sunnyside Restaurant & Lodge - www.sunnysidelodge.com/
Fire Sign Cafe - firesigncafe.com
West Shore Market - www.westshoremarket.com/
Spoon - spoontahoe.com
Fleur De Lac
History
In 1935, notable industrialist Henry Kaiser-the father of modern shipbuilding-constructed Fleur du Lac, a 15-acre lakefront utopia on Lake Tahoe’s west shore. A crew of 300 men worked eight-hour shifts around the clock, successfully fulfilling Kaiser’s ambitious goal of completing the estate in just 30 days.
Kaiser desired a venue to celebrate the completion of his Hoover Dam project with family and friends in a locale he adored, Lake Tahoe, and where he could also keep his beloved boats. Lavish parties took place with his contemporaries, who he would entertain in his personal yacht club with decadent meals followed by races across the lake in extravagant, V12 watercraft.
Chambers Landing
History
The building we know today as Chambers Landing was started by John Washington McKinney when he founded Hunter's Retreat in 1863, a hunting and fishing camp in the Sierra Nevada. The current Chambers Bar building was built in 1875. It was the first boathouse on Tahoe and also doubled as a bar and clubhouse. In Homewood in the late 19th Century, the “Tahoe Steamer” used to pull up to the Chambers dock that led to a building that housed a post office, a sundry store and a saloon. In 1920, David Henry Chambers purchased McKinney's Hunter's Resort from the Westhoffs and renamed it Chambers Lodge. Ernest Kettenhoffen purchased the property in 1956 and in 1969 sold Chambers Lodge to the Pirini Corporation.
Homewood
History
Lake Tahoe, including the West Shore, was the summer and fall home to the Washoe tribe for many centuries before non-Native Americans even knew Lake Tahoe existed. However, things changed quickly during the mid-1800s. The westward exploration by John C. Fremont in 1844 put Lake Tahoe on the maps and shortly after, the California Gold Rush and the discovery of the Comstock Lode in Virginia City inspired a westward migration of people hoping to strike it rich.
The Lake Tahoe basin wasn’t particularly fruitful when it came to precious metals, but many of the failed miners that settled the area found success logging the forests to provide lumber for the railroad and the Comstock Lode in Nevada. A couple of these settlers landed on the west shore of the lake including Jack Sargeant Ellis, a dairy farmer for whom Ellis Peak is named, and Dick Madden who settled along the creek that now bears his name.
Though logging and mining brought settlers to the West Shore, the area slowly began to evolve into a resort destination. A Homewood District was established as a vacation resort and marina. The Hotel Homewood was built in 1910, soon followed by a large casino and dance hall that attracted people in search of fun to the area.
Restaurants
Swiss Lakewood - www.swisslakewood.com/
West Shore Café & Inn - www.westshorecafe.com/
Chambers Landing Bar & Grill - www.chamberspunch.com/
Meeks Bay
History
1878 - George Thomas and James Andrew Murphy, winter residents of Coloma and native Californians, settled at Meeks Bay. They enter the cattle business, herding their milk cows from Coloma to Meeks bay in the summer. They saved to buy the land from the Central Pacific (who had acquired it through an extensive railroad grant.) A few days before the sale was to take place, Duane L. Bliss bought the land, representing Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company. Bliss promised the Murphy brothers that they could buy the land for the original price after it had been logged.
Meeks Bay is on Tahoe’s West Shore. Meeks Creek comes out of Rubicon Lake and flows to Meeks Bay. The bay was named after John Meeks who, with his brothers, harvested 25 tons of wild hay in the meadow there in 1862. From that time to now the meadow and creek, like a lot of other places on the lake, have been damaged.
00:01 - Intro
00:56 - Lake Tahoe History
01:25 - Sunnyside
02:23 - William Kent State Park
02:42 - Hurricane Bay
03:12 - Fleur Du Lac
03:32 - Homewood
04:53 - Concours d'Elegance
05:20 - Chambers Landing
06:13 - Rubicon Trail
06:43 - Conclusion

[@RealChristinaLivingston]

Excellent video! Very informative. Loved the visual shots and the story telling.

[@gemmegroup]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ebwork3729]

Definitely the best short going out next month for 3 days

[@lukeskywalker1840]

Absolutely disgusting. My parents built their house on Tahoe in 1947. Right on the lake, bordering the Sugar Pine State Park. Every year we saw it change from what was a sleepy Mountain resort, and a bunch of hippies, kind of bouncing around to becoming more and more of a playground for the ultra rich. That’s all it is now is a playground for the ultra rich. All of the locals have been pushed out in favor of expensive cars, tearing down, classic Tahoe properties to build super luxury homes and fancy restaurants and shopping. It’s truly saddening.

[@gemmegroup]

It is true that lake Tahoe is a playground for the rich, and always has been since the inception of the railway coming through our area. In the late 1800's and early 1900's Tahoe was virtually clear cut by big business to build the railways, feed he papermills and create the infrastructure of the world that we live in today. Most of those natural resources went to San Francisco, Reno and Sacramento. The truth of our area is that Tahoe is the 3rd most visited natural wonder of the world. People from all over the world come to visit every year. Tripling our population with tourism when they come to enjoy every day. It is one of the most accessible natural resources in all of America. Our local businesses feed off of the revenue generated by tourism, our infrastructure is strained as a result every year. But the truth in what keeps property values where they are, is the cost of materials, the modern day building codes increasing the engineering costs, the cost of labor and the environmental policies preserving our lake quality for all of those people to preserve. Thanks for your comments. I appreciate your perspective.

[@lukeskywalker1840]

@@gemmegroup I’m guessing you weren’t there in the 70s. I was. Screw the rich. West shore locals only. And if you really think it was always playground for the ultra rich, you sure weren’t there. I was there.

[@gemmegroup]

@@lukeskywalker1840 Congratulations! What a great life you have lived my friend.

[@marktweet7395]

Wrong. California taxes and snowy roads in winter

[@gemmegroup]

We have snow and taxes here... Cant deny that. But we also have a pristine environment and some of the greatest skiing in the US.